The V.I. Port Authority is poised to receive a $300,000 grant that will be used to fund an economic development study for St. Croix.
The Port Authority will add $130,000 to the pending grant and use the total to hire a consultant to determine what industries are best suited to St. Croix. Additionally, the $430,000 would cover a marketing plan and a preliminary design for an industrial park on Port Authority-owned land adjacent to the Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, according to Gordon Finch, Port Authority executive director.
Finch said Wednesday that the U.S. Economic Development Administration has approved the authority’s initial $300,000-grant application. The agency will submit a final application this week that the EDA must approve before the grant can be processed.
The consultant’s task, Finch said, will be to identify St. Croix’s assets that would have a direct impact on the island’s growth potential, Finch said.
"In order to develop St. Croix to its fullest potential, this first step of identifying the island’s realistic economic opportunity is paramount," he said. "We would like to assist with attracting high-tech and non-polluting industrial companies to the island that would help create more jobs and enhance the island’s domestic product."